Ghana Armed Forces committed to Green Ghana project — Chief of Defence Staff
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, has said that the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) was committed to the Green Ghana project.
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The project, which was launched in 2022, aims to plant 20 million trees across the country as part of environmental sustainability efforts.
Vice Admiral Amoama said the GAF had since the commencement of the project, planted a significant number of trees to help with the restoration of the country's forest cover while contributing to the global efforts of fighting climate change.
He has consequently called on all garrisons of the GAF to further show their commitment by fully participating in the project, and further directed all commanders of the garrisons to submit progress reports on previous activities, as well as trees planted during the 2023 exercise for scrutiny.
Vice Admiral Amoama made the call when he led the GAF to plant trees to mark the Green Ghana Day last Friday.
The CDS together with the Chief of Staff in charge of administration at the General headquarters of GAF, Air Vice Marshal Michael Appiah-Agyekum, planted trees at Burma Camp.
Operation Halt
The CDS said that while the GAF through the Operation Halt II initiative continued to play a key role in the fight against illegal mining and its effects on the massive land degradation, the citizenry ought to be made to also take interest in the exercise.
"The devastation caused to our environment by the illegal mining phenomenon requires that we all come together to plant, nurture and protect trees so that we can enhance environmental protection and sustainability," Vice Admiral Amoama said.
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"Let's not forget that the exercise is also fused into the global climate change effect, thus our collective efforts could go to save the unborn generations while also ensuring food sustenance and poverty reduction," the CDS said.
He commended the garrisons as well as the personnel of the defence civilian establishment for the continuous support for the project, urging them to nurture the trees to grow to provide the needed forest cover for the country.
Environmental sustainability key
The Chief of Staff in charge of Administration at the General Headquarters of GAF, Air Vice Marshal Michael Appiah-Agyekum, in an address, said that environmental sustainability remained key to the elimination of carbon footprints from the environment.
The project is a testament to the fact that when Ghanaians come together, they can achieve great things.
The project, he also said, was a reminder that the general public had a role to play in protecting the environment.
"We can all do our part by planting trees, recycling and reducing our carbon footprint while working to create a healthier and more sustainable future for Ghanaians", Air Vice Marshal Appiah-Agyekum said.
National exercise
The third edition of the Green Ghana Day took place last Friday, as Ghanaians came together to plant trees as part of efforts at restoring the country’s degraded landscape.
The exercise which was carried out across the country received patronage from high profile personalities, the diplomatic community, organisations, companies, religious bodies, state and non-state institutions.
The third in three years, yesterday’s event brings to 43 million the number of trees that have been planted since the initiative was first held on June 11, 2021, with a post-planting monitoring survey putting the average tree survival rate at 71 per cent or 23 million trees planted during the previous two editions.
In the first edition, seven million trees were planted, while 26 million trees were planted last year.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led the country in the tree-planting exercise at the University of Ghana in the Greater Accra Region, where he was joined by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, and other personalities who were hosted by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo.
The President planted a tree to symbolically start the exercise just after 11 a.m.
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He planted Velvet Tamarind, known locally as ‘yooyi” by the Gas, atsitoe by the Eʋes and ‘Asamba’ by Fantes, at the event which was on the theme “Mobilising for a Greener Future.”
The legislative arm of government also actively participated in the national exercise, with the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, leading legislators and staff of the Parliamentary Service to plant trees at the premises of the House.
At the Nationalism Park in Accra, the Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Development, Dan Botwe, led the charge in planting trees, while his counterpart from the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ministry organised a similar event at the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs at Dodowa.